'Stick to the law' Muslim fury as integration expert calls for burka ban in the workplace
WEARING the burka should be banned from the workplace, an integration expert has said.
A integration expert has called for a burka ban in the workplace
Heinz Fassmann, a government consultant, said the state should not be shown to promote any religion and instead be “above all religions”.
The Austrian integration expert called for the burka to be banned within public services.
He told German newspaper Die Presse: “When asked whether teachers in public schools should be allowed to wear a headscarf, I would clearly say: No.”
The expert called for the burka to be banned within public services
When asked whether teachers in public schools should be allowed to wear a headscarf, I would clearly say: No.
However Mr Fassmann said the Christian cross could be worn in the classroom because the tradition has been “historically grown” in Austria.
Mr Fassmann’s controversial comments sparked outrage across Austria, with the country's Islamic religious community (IGGiO) saying: “The state as an employer should stick to the anti-discrimination legislation”.
IGGiO spokesman, Carla Amina Baghajati, said she was angered that “something so anti-integrative comes from an integration expert”.
Austria has been trying to ban the burka - the Islamic face veil - since the summer of 2016 as Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz attempted to push through plans.
But the Socialist party of Austria (SPO) and other left-wing parties quashed the controversial plans.
France was the first country in Europe to ban the Islamic face veil
Louise Cooper: "I would ban the burka"
Ukip has long called for a ban of Islamic full face veils in Britain and has pointed to laws that exist in other European countries.
The UK does not have a ban on Islamic dress but schools can decide their own dress code and prevent students from wearing face veils.
Fassmann said the Christian cross could be worn in the classroom
France was the first country in Europe to ban Islamic face veils, such as the burka and the niqab, in public places.
The controversial ban took effect in April 2011 and made it illegal for Muslim women to leave their homes with their faces covered. In an shock u-turn, German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently called for a burka ban wherever legally possible for the "good of Germany".